08 June 2018

II-11 thru 13: Dragons, Wyverns, & Balrog Illos; Annotated

Page 11-13

Wyverns: though
dragons are not physically described (and why would they be, everyone
knows what a dragon looks like), the wyvern is described. We are told
they are relatives of Dragons,
but they are smaller and have but two legs. We
may infer from this dragons have more than two legs. The AD&D
MonsterManual
would later depict dragons with four
legs and a pair of wings,
wyverns with two legs
and a pair of wings.

Dragons: the
description for this iconic monsters includes excellent rules for
subduing a dragon (p. 12). In this manner a player could acquire a
dragon NPC hireling. Some referees would extend these rules to other
types of monsters.

Demon Illustration,
Bottom of Page: in the current printing the winged humanoid is
not labeled. Before the cease and desist letter from the Tolkien
Estate there was a caption: Balrog.